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It has been previously demonstrated that growth hormone (GH)-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2 and Stat5a and Stat5b occurs in FDP-C1 cells expressing either the entire GH receptor or truncations of the cytoplasmic domain expressing only the membrane-proximal 80 amino acids. However, other receptor domains that might modulate rates of GH activation and inactivation of this cascade have not been examined. Here we have defined a region in the human GH receptor between amino acids 520 and 540 in the cytoplasmic domain that is required for attenuation of GH-activated Jak/Stat signaling. Immunoprecipitations with antibodies to Jak2 indicate that the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 is associated with this kinase in cells exposed to GH. To address the possibility that SHP-1 could function as a negative regulator of GH signaling, liver extracts from motheaten mice deficient in SHP-1 or unaffected littermates were analyzed for activation of Stats and Jak2. Extracts from motheaten mice displayed prolonged activation of the Stat proteins as measured by their ability to interact with DNA and prolonged tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2. These results delineate a novel domain in the GH receptor that regulates the inactivation of the Jak/Stat pathway and appears to be modulated by SHP-1.

The present study of prolactin (PRL) receptor-mediated recruitment of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) demonstrates that PRL activates STAT3, in addition to STAT1 and STAT5 as previously reported, and that STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5 are mediators of PRL effects in cells whether of lymphoid, myeloid or mammary epithelial origin. Furthermore, receptor mutants M240 and T280 that do not mediate PRL-induced JAK2 activation and cell proliferation, are also unable to mediate STAT activation, supporting the proposed model of JAK2 as the initial effector protein used by PRL receptors. On the other hand, tyrosine phosphorylation analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that receptor mutant G328, which lacks four of the five conserved cytoplasmic tyrosine residues of PRL receptors, retained the ability to activate JAK2 and STAT1, STAT3 and STAT5. These results support the notion that phosphotyrosyl residues other than those of the receptor, i.e., JAK2, are involved in recruiting STAT proteins to the activated PRL receptor complex.

Incubation of cells with growth hormone (GH) stimulates both tyrosine phosphorylation of the Jak2 tyrosine kinase and, in some cells, the transcription factor Stat1 alpha (1-4). When the promyeloid cell line FDC-P1 is transfected with the human growth hormone receptor, these cells can grow in the presence of GH and in the absence of interleukin-3. Growth hormone treatment of cells expressing the human growth hormone receptor did not activate Stat1 alpha. However, a complex is present in extracts prepared from growth hormone-treated cells that binds to the gamma response region, an enhancer present in the promoter of the high affinity Fc gamma R1 receptor to which cytokine-activated Stat complexes bind. When truncations of the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor are expressed in FDC-P1 cells only the membrane-proximal 80 amino acids (containing box 1 and box 2) are required for activation of both a GH-stimulated binding activity (GHSF) and tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2. Activation of GHSF can be inhibited in a cell-free system by the addition of a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein containing these 80 amino acids. Replacement of the one tyrosine in this region of the receptor with a phenylalanine does not alter the activation of either GHSF or Jak2, suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation of the receptor is not required for GH activation of GHSF. Moreover, a cell line expressing a receptor with only the 54 membrane-proximal amino acids of the intracellular domain (including box 1) shows constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated Jak2 as well as GHSF binding. With this truncated receptor, there is little if any additional GH-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2 or induced binding to the gamma response region. These results define the importance of the membrane-proximal 80 amino acids of the GH receptor (with the conserved box 1 and box 2 domains) with regard to GH activation of both Jak2 and Stat(s). They also suggest that within these domains there may be positive and negative elements that regulate Jak2 function.

The structural domains of interleukin-2 receptor beta (IL-2R beta) were examined, characterizing the protein domains, associated phosphoproteins and nuclear complexes of IL-2-induced signal transduction. A series of IL-2R beta cytoplasmic deletion mutants were constructed and transfected into a murine pre-B-cell line, Ba/F3. The proliferative response of characterized clones was determined. A minimal linear cytoplasmic sequence required for proliferation and a sequence motif (PQPLXP) needed along with Box1-Box2 for IL-2-induced proliferation were identified. Anti-phosphotyrosine Western-blot analysis of a stimulated biologically active clone showed several IL-2-induced tyrosylphosphorylated proteins with molecular masses ranging from 45 to 116 kDa. In vitro kinase studies of biologically active clone-receptor complexes showed a 116 kDa protein (p116) to be the major tyrosine-phosphorylated component. The presence of the p116 kinase in the receptor complex correlates with IL-2-induced proliferation. An IL-2-inducible p116 kinase has recently been characterized as a Jak kinase family member and named Jak3. Nuclear complexes were formed with the GRR oligomer only when the IL-2R beta mutant supported proliferation. This led us to conclude that Box1-Box2 and PQPLXP motifs associate with Jak3 and that this association is an essential element in the IL-2 signal-transduction pathway culminating in the formation of a nuclear complex.

Binding of growth hormone (GH) and erythropoietin (EPO) to their respective receptors results in receptor clustering and activation of tyrosine kinases that initiate a cascade of events resulting not only in the rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins but also in the induction of early-response genes. In this report, we show that GH and EPO induce the tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins with molecular masses of 93 kDa and of 91 and 84 kDa, respectively, and that these proteins form DNA-binding complexes which recognize an enhancer that has features in common with several rapidly induced genes such as c-fos. Assembly of the protein complexes required tyrosine phosphorylation, which occurred within minutes after addition of ligand. The activated complexes translocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. The protein activated by GH is antigenically similar to p91, a protein common to several transcription complexes that are activated by interferons and other cytokines. In contrast, the proteins activated by EPO are distinct from p91. These findings establish the outlines for a cytokine-induced intracellular signaling pathway, which begins with ligand-induced receptor clustering that activates one or more tyrosine kinases. These data are the first to demonstrate that GH- and EPO-activated tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins can specifically recognize a well-defined enhancer and therefore provide a mechanism for rapidly transducing signals from the membrane to the nucleus.

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and IFN-gamma regulate gene expression by tyrosine phosphorylation of several transcription factors that have the 91-kilodalton (p91) protein of interferon-stimulated gene factor-3 (ISGF-3) as a common component. Interferon-activated protein complexes bind enhancers present in the promoters of early response genes such as the high-affinity Fc gamma receptor gene (Fc gamma RI). Treatment of human peripheral blood monocytes or basophils with interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-5, IL-10, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) activated DNA binding proteins that recognized the IFN-gamma response region (GRR) located in the promoter of the Fc gamma RI gene. Although tyrosine phosphorylation was required for the assembly of each of these GRR binding complexes, only those formed as a result of treatment with IFN-gamma or IL-10 contained p91. Instead, complexes activated by IL-3 or GM-CSF contained a tyrosine-phosphorylated protein of 80 kilodaltons. Induction of Fc gamma RI RNA occurred only with IFN-gamma and IL-10, whereas pretreatment of cells with GM-CSF or IL-3 inhibited IFN-gamma induction of Fc gamma RI RNA. Thus, several cytokines other than interferons can activate putative transcription factors by tyrosine phosphorylation.

Phorbol esters activate the expression of a variety of early-response genes through protein kinase C-dependent pathways. In addition, phorbol esters may promote cell growth by the inhibition of expression of cellular gene products regulated by antiproliferative agents such as interferons (IFN)s. In human diploid fibroblasts, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) selectively inhibits the IFN-alpha-induced cellular gene ISG54. Using transient transfection assays, we have delineated two elements in the promoter of this gene that are necessary for the inhibitory actions of PMA. These elements include (i) the IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) which is necessary for IFN-alpha-induced cellular gene expression, and (ii) an element located near the site of transcription initiation. IFN-alpha treatment resulted in the rapid induction of ISGF3, a multisubunit transcription factor which binds to the ISRE. PMA caused a substantial reduction in IFN alpha-induced ISGF3 in both nuclear and cytoplasmic extracts, as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift assays with the ISRE as a probe. In vitro reconstitution experiments revealed that IFN-alpha activation of the ISGF3 alpha component of ISGF3 was not affected by PMA. Further experiments were consistent with the possibility that PMA regulated the activity of a cellular factor which competed with ISGF3 gamma for binding of the activated ISGF3 alpha polypeptides. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using the cap site of ISG54 as a probe demonstrated the formation of a specific complex whose DNA binding activity was not affected by treatment of cells with PMA or IFN-alpha. Competitive inhibition studies were consistent with the DNA-protein complex at the cap site of ISG54 containing proteins with DNA binding sites in common with those which also interact with the ISRE. These data suggest a unique regulatory mechanism by which phorbol esters can modulate IFN signaling.

We constructed in-frame translational fusions of the Escherichia coli lacZ gene with four genes (sspA, sspB, sspD, and sspE) which code for small, acid-soluble spore proteins of Bacillus subtilis, and integrated these fusions into the chromosomes of various B. subtilis strains. With single copies of the fusions in wild-type B. subtilis, beta-galactosidase was synthesized only during sporulation, with the amounts accumulated being sspB much greater than sspE greater than or equal to sspA greater than or equal to sspD. Greater than 97% of the beta-galactosidase was found in the developing forespore, and the great majority was incorporated into mature spores. Less than 2% of the maximum amount of beta-galactosidase was made when these fusions were introduced into B. subtilis strains blocked in stages 0 and II of sporulation, as well as in some stage III mutants. Other stage III mutants, as well as stage IV and V mutants, had no effect on beta-galactosidase synthesis. Increasing the copy number of the sspA-, sspD-, or sspE-lacZ fusions (up to 17-fold for sspE-lacZ) in wild-type B. subtilis resulted in a parallel increase in the amount of beta-galactosidase accumulated (again only in sporulation and with greater than 95% in the developing forespore), with no significant effect on wild-type small, acid-soluble spore protein production. Similarly, the absence of one or more wild-type ssp genes or the presence of multiple copies of wild-type ssp genes had no effect on the expression of the lacZ fusions tested. These data indicate that these ssp-lacZ fusions escape the autoregulation seen for the intact sspA and sspB genes. Strikingly, the kinetics of beta-galactosidase synthesis were identical for all four ssp-lacZ fusions and paralleled those of glucose dehydrogenase synthesis. Similarly, all asporogenous mutants tested had identical effects on both glucose dehydrogenase and ssp-lacZ fusion expression.

The protease that initiates rapid proteolysis during germination of Bacillus megaterium spores is synthesized during sporulation as a 46,000-molecular-weight polypeptide (P46) and is processed later in sporulation to a 41,000-molecular-weight polypeptide (P41), which is converted to a 40,000-molecular-weight polypeptide (P40) early in spore germination. P40 is known to be both tetrameric and enzymatically active. In this work, we show that P46 and P41 are both tetrameric, but that only P41 is enzymatically active. The identification of a zymogen form (P46) of this protease explains in part the regulation of the activity of this enzyme.

An experimental series in the rabbit was performed to test gadolinium-DTPA (Gd-DTPA) enhancement of VX-2 carcinoma and hemorrhages induced in the soft tissues. The recognition of both malignant and benign lesions was greatly facilitated on T1 weighted images after intravenous administration of 0.3 mmol Gd-DTPA/kg body weight because of reduced T1 relaxation times. Gd-DTPA enhancement reached its maximum after 10-15 minutes and was most apparent in tumor tissue, connective tissue surrounding the tumor and in the area of fresh hemorrhage.

Bacillus subtilis strains containing a deletion in the gene coding for the major small, acid-soluble, spore protein (SASP-gamma) grew and sporulated, and their spores initiated germination normally, but outgrowth of SASP-gamma- spores was significantly slower than that of wild-type spores. The absence of SASP-gamma had no effect on spore protoplast density or spore resistance to heat or radiation. Consequently, SASP-gamma has a different function in spores than do the other major small, acid-soluble proteins.

The Bacillus megaterium gene coding for small, acid-soluble spore protein (SASP) B was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The amino acid sequence predicted from the DNA sequence was identical to that determined previously for SASP B, with the exception of the amino-terminal methionine predicted from the gene sequence which is presumably removed posttranslationally and an asparagine residue predicted at position 21 which was originally identified as an aspartate residue. The mRNA encoded by the SASP B gene is synthesized for only a discrete period midway in sporulation, in parallel with mRNAs coding for other SASPs. The small size of the SASP B mRNA (365 nucleotides) indicated that the mRNA is monocistronic. The SASP B gene itself hybridized strongly to only one band in Southern blots of restriction enzyme digests of B. megaterium DNA, suggesting that the SASP B gene is not a member of a highly conserved multigene family, as is the case for other SASP genes.

Two major low-molecular weight, acid-soluble proteins (termed A and B proteins) were purified from Bacillus sphaericus spores and had properties similar to those of the analogous proteins from spores of other Bacillus species. These proteins were accumulated late in sporulation, when the developing spores became resistant to UV light, and were degraded during spore germination by a spore protease. A mutant of B. sphaericus unable to make spore cortex because of a block in diaminopimelic acid (DAP) biosynthesis accumulated and maintained levels of the A and B proteins similar to those in the DAP+ parent or the DAP- strain in which cortex formation was restored by growth with DAP. In addition, the DAP- strain grown without DAP acquired a level of UV light resistance identical to that of wild-type spores and at the time of appearance of the A and B proteins. These findings indicate that formation of little, if any, spore cortex is required for acquisition of UV light resistance or maintenance of high levels of A and B proteins. The data provide further support for a role of the A and B proteins in the spore's UV light resistance.

The Bacillus subtilis gene (sspE) which codes for small acid-soluble spore protein gamma (SASP-gamma) was cloned, and its chromosomal location (65 degrees, linked to glpD) and nucleotide sequence were determined. The amino acid sequence of SASP-gamma is similar to that of SASP-B of Bacillus megaterium, but these sequences are not as highly conserved across species as are those of other SASPs. The SASP-gamma gene is transcribed only in sporulation in parallel with other SASP genes and gives a single mRNA that is approximately 340 nucleotides long. The results of hybridization of an sspE gene probe to Southern blots of B. subtilis DNA suggested that there is only a single gene coding for the SASP-gamma type of protein in B. subtilis. This was confirmed by introducing a deletion mutation into the cloned sspE gene and transferring the deletion into the B. subtilis chromosome, with concomitant loss of the wild-type gene. This sspE deletion strain sporulated well, but lacked the SASP-gamma type of protein.